Synecdoche, New York
Dir: Charlie Kaufman
2008
*****
Maybe the word masterpiece is overused these days but for Charlie Kaufman's 2008 Synecdoche, New York, it's for lack of a better word. I regard Kaufman as prolific a writer as William S. Burroughs, Anthony Burgess and even George Orwell in a funny kind of way but now he's a film director too, and I can only say about bloody time. He's obviously got the talent as this has got to be one of the best and most surprising debuts since Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter, a classic that only became so, long after it's release, something I suspect may happen here (did anyone actually see The Shawshank Redemption at the cinema?). I digress, Synecdoche, New York is a wonderful paranoid-life-journey-extravaganza of fear, angst, regret and despair (with a little bit of ambition in there for good measure). All the interesting aspects of life basically. Anyone can put a cute little rabbit in a film and make everyone happy, and if that's your cup of tea, then there is plenty out there to go round. Why do people regard this film as pretentious? Just put your hands up and say you don't understand it, there's nothing pretentious about that. It's so cram packed with symbolism it's impossible to catch everything in just one watch, I personally am looking forward to seeing it again, again and again. When cinema is this good it deserves a second look. I can only compare it to being like a cross between Eraserhead (paranoia) and Fellini's 8 1/2 but directed by the son of Ingmar Bergman & Jean Renoir (with Luis Buñuel by his side) but an American indie, and that only begins to describe it. Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the most talented actors of all time and in my opinion, and Kaufman has cast the best female line-up ever in one film. Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Williams and Emily Watson are my favourite actresses and all of them give great performances. This film has jumped straight to the top of my favourite films list, it's probably now in my top 10 of all time. I can't recommend it enough.